The Best Indie Games to Buy in the Steam Sale

50% off or more.

If there’s one thing that’s been proven within the video game industry over the last decade, it’s that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Sure, it’s great traversing huge worlds for 40+ hours whilst being blinded by ultra-crisp 4K graphics, but sometimes the more interesting games are the ones that take the medium back to basics. The indie game revolution was born and bred alongside Xbox Marketplace, and has since paved the way for hundreds, if not thousands, of small-budget games and their developers to be given their chance to shine.

They’ve since not only found a home on Microsoft and Sony’s systems, but more naturally on an ever-expanding number of PC platforms such as Steam and GOG. The former is yet again hosting its annual Summer Sale, a chance for people to pick up games they otherwise couldn’t afford for cheap prices. Here’s out list of the best indie games money can buy in this year’s Steam Summer Sale: all great, all 50% off or more.

11. Don’t Starve

When you’re stranded in an eerie and unknown world without any supplies, how many things can kill you? According to Don’t Starve, a lot. Taking control of Winston, players are forced into finding weapons to defeat monsters, cooking food to keep him healthy, or resting to prevent him from going insane. With randomly generated locations and a day-night cycle that will have you constantly considering your next move, Don’t Starve is big tale of survival on a small scale.

10. Spelunky

It’s easy to be fooled by indie games that their difficulty is as simple as their graphics. Instead, most prove to be as challenging, if not more so, than AAA titles. Spelunky, however, has the reputation of being the Dark Souls of the indie scene, a game so challenging you’ll find less death in a graveyard. Every failure acts as a learning curve, though, improving your skills and knowledge of the game as you move on through the next procedurally generated levels. Punishment for some but challenge for others, Spelunky will teach every player to never judge a book by its cover.